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E39 (1997 - 2003) The BMW 5-Series (E39 chassis) was introduced in the United States as a 1997 model year car and lasted until the 2004 when the E60 chassis was released. The United States saw several variations including the 525i, 528i, 530i and 540i. -- View the E39 Wiki

I've got the "Automatic Transmission" warning light on. It's the one with the gear and exclamation mark (or "TRANS.FAILSAFE PROG" on dashboards with the MID).

I rarely start a new thread but after searching for hours, most thread responses were "What were the codes?", "We need the codes to help." but since no one followed up by listing any codes, there were no definitive solutions posted.

Here were my symptoms. The gear and exclamation mark warning light was lit. The Service Engine Soon light was also lit. The car takes longer than normal to start and the initial idle can be a little rough. There seems to be less torque on initial acceleration but the automatic transmission seems to shift through all gears. The shifts were very harsh (both upshifts and downshifts). The steptronic mode worked allowing manual shifts from 1st to 5th gear (also harsh shifts). Others have called this safe mode or limp mode.

After reading the module error codes (posted below) I cleared them from memory and everything seems to be working properly again with no warning lights. I'm sure they'll be back. Hopefully, someone can make some sense out of these error codes to see if there's anything that points to a specific part. I know some won't be relevant since they could have been stored from unrelated issues. The next time the error occurs I should have a cleaner set of codes (for example, I replaced a wheel speed sensor 2 weeks ago but I didn't clear the memory after installing it).

On the EGS, I got the 150 error when my ecu stopped getting a reading from the crankshaft position sensor. In the context I was dealing with, my understanding is that the 150 error was a result of EGS not receiving the info it requires from the ECU. This would seems to go along with the "Data Lead Disturbed" message you got.

I would start by checking the continuity of the connections between the ECU and the EGS. If you're not already familiar with it, here's the WDS, wiring diagram software (though it may stand for something else auf Deutsche): http://www.bmw-planet.com/diagrams/release/en/

The EGS is in a plastic compartment along with the ECU, underneath the passenger side micro-filter:

Another thing: have you jump started it, or another car off of your car, recently? I fried an EGS by jump starting once. The failure was initially intermittent but grew steadily in frequency until I was getting limp mode all the time. This took about three months of normal driving. Luckily for cars with the MS42 engine management and GS20 EGS, you can directly swap the EGS from one car to another, and a used one was $60. I do not know if that is the case for you.

You've got so many codes listed it is hard to figure out where to start the troublshooting. Try clearing your codes and see what comes back.

Thanks, That's my plan. I cleared them yesterday and everything is good now but if/when it comes back, I'll post the cleaned up list. I was hoping there may have been something obvious in there that someone would catch.

After about a month of everything running great, the car returned to limp mode a couple of days ago.

Before I go into the detail about the current issue, I want to say something good about the DISA repair kit created by Gary at German Auto Solutions. This kit (maybe the o-ring alone) made an amazing difference in the power the car has. It seemed to solve the 227 and 228, lambda contol tolerance Banks 1 and 2 codes I was getting regularly over the last several years. They were always there and now they're not. I'll post the details of that on another thread.

Back to the transmission "limp mode" and warning light.
Here are the latest codes from INPA:
ECU GS20 (EGS)
150 CAN Engine Speed
131 CAN-Time-Out Cluster

ECU: MS430DS0
83 KW Error
244 segment time measuring faulty
(Notice no more 227 and 228 codes - I know it's unrelated to the transmission but solving them was a big deal for me).

I also had an IKE code 141 "ATS Signal: telegram error or no telegram" but I'm pretty sure that was a remnant from a turn signal bulb problem about a week ago that has been corrected.

The current status is that clearing the codes has the car working normally again. I suspect there's an intermittent problem with the crankshaft speed sensor or circuit. I'll look into that but if anyone has any advice, let me know.

I experienced EXACTLY the same symptoms on my 2000 528i with 187K this week. Took it to my mechanic and he pulled almost all of the same codes in your latest post: 150,151,244, and 83.

He said the problem was a bad Crank Shaft Positioning Sensor, Part #12141709616. He replaced the part with an OEM part, in this case it was Siemens. He said for this part that he has found it to be very important to only use OEM and has had issues with none OEM Crank Shaft Position Sensors.

All symptoms are gone and the car is running great. Paid one hour labor+Diagnostic Fee+$120 for Crank Shaft Sensor. Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

It happened again about a week ago but I still didn't order the part. I reset the code again and then ordered the part. Limp mode came back the next day. The part arrived a few days later.

It took less than an hour to replace (a little hard to reach but I replaced it from the top of the car (never had to crawl underneath). So far it's been working well for about a week.

It is hard to stay ahead of the failing parts and sensors as these E39s age but with the help on this forum, the car should continue running well for several more years. It's still the best car I've ever owned.

Same thing happend to me. Transmission went into "limp" mode and shifted harsh and engine tool longer to start. I replaced the crankshaft sensor 3 times with aftermarket ones. I am not sure of the brand of the first two, but the last one was a Beck/Arnley. I gave up thinking there is no way that three of them could be bad. The BMW mechanic that I took it to put it on his computer and said it is a bad Crankshaft sensor and put a used one he had on it and it now runs and shifts great. I guess when they say you need gunuine BMW sensors, they are not joking. I wish I had some recourse to get paid labor for the fix. I would have fixed it myself if they didn't sell bad parts. Live and learn!

You can buy many BMW OEM parts from sources other than a BMW dealer. There are several threads about the best places to buy from (including site sponsors). This part, for my 2001 E39, was available from VDO-Siemens (PN:12141709616). They are the OEM for BMW on this part. It was available from places like Autohauz of AZ and Pelican Parts online. If you need actual BMW branded parts, there are dealers that offer discounted parts over the web. One very good site is run by Tisher BMW called getbmwparts.com. I'm sure someone else (bluebee) will post the link to where all these sources are listed with the sites sponsors highlighted (I buy from them when I can).

I've got the "Automatic Transmission" warning light on. It's the one with the gear and exclamation mark (or "TRANS.FAILSAFE PROG" on dashboards with the MID).

I rarely start a new thread but after searching for hours, most thread responses were "What were the codes?", "We need the codes to help." but since no one followed up by listing any codes, there were no definitive solutions posted.

Here were my symptoms. The gear and exclamation mark warning light was lit. The Service Engine Soon light was also lit. The car takes longer than normal to start and the initial idle can be a little rough. There seems to be less torque on initial acceleration but the automatic transmission seems to shift through all gears. The shifts were very harsh (both upshifts and downshifts). The steptronic mode worked allowing manual shifts from 1st to 5th gear (also harsh shifts). Others have called this safe mode or limp mode.

After reading the module error codes (posted below) I cleared them from memory and everything seems to be working properly again with no warning lights. I'm sure they'll be back. Hopefully, someone can make some sense out of these error codes to see if there's anything that points to a specific part. I know some won't be relevant since they could have been stored from unrelated issues. The next time the error occurs I should have a cleaner set of codes (for example, I replaced a wheel speed sensor 2 weeks ago but I didn't clear the memory after installing it).

I took it to the independent BMW shop and they hooked it to their computer. They said it was a bad crank sensor. He had a used one on a spare engine he had there. Put the used one in and everything is good as new. They are right about the aftermarket sensors. I tried 3 of them before I gave up and took it to the shop. One hour labor and $45 for the used part with a one year warrantee. Believe me, I got my money back for the bad new one!

150 CAN Engine speed
131 CAN-Time-Out Cluster
Fixed by replacing the Crankshaft Position Sensor (12141709616) for $78. It took about 40 minutes to install (from the top of the engine). Had to remove a few things to get to it. I haven't seen the problem since I installed it in March.